http://actfourscreenplays.com/staging/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/great-script-header7.png00StoryMapsDanhttp://actfourscreenplays.com/staging/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/great-script-header7.pngStoryMapsDan2011-06-27 03:20:342011-06-27 10:21:03The "Mike Teavee is the Worst Character Name ever" Rule of Screenwriting

Black Swan is a tight, merciless thriller that forges one, driving throughline that is supported by every character and element in the story. In order to become the Black Swan and achieve her dream of ballet perfection, Nina must prove to her director Thomas that she can transform herself on stage, fight off her mother’s attempts to stifle her and defeat her rival Lily, all while suffering from the rapid deterioration of her psyche. She loses the battle for her mind but she achieves her artistic dream, dancing a perfect Black Swan, at the ultimate cost of her life.

http://actfourscreenplays.com/staging/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/great-script-header7.png00StoryMapsDanhttp://actfourscreenplays.com/staging/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/great-script-header7.pngStoryMapsDan2011-06-17 11:37:372013-12-07 17:10:45Raiders of the Lost Ark story map

In an article titled “The Inside Story,” published in Psychology Today back in March, super producer Peter Guber talks about the psychological, emotional and transformative powers of storytelling and how they apply to the movies — WHY we love movies and what gets us engaged.

Stories… are state-of-the-heart technology – they connect us to others. They provide emotional transportation, moving people to take action on your cause because they can very quickly come to psychologically identify with the characters in a narrative or share an experience…

I couldn’t help but find many points in the article where Guber affirms the very same tenets that I put forth in Story Maps: How to Write a GREAT Screenplay. The quotation above, specifically the wonderful phrase “state of the heart,” immediately made me think of a line from my Introduction (excerpt here): Read more →

http://actfourscreenplays.com/staging/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/great-script-header7.png00StoryMapsDanhttp://actfourscreenplays.com/staging/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/great-script-header7.pngStoryMapsDan2011-05-26 13:59:202011-06-07 18:50:39Story Maps: Peter Guber on the psychology and the emotion embedded in story